Partners
by WhateverIWrite1995
Summary: Carlton Lassiter and Juliet O'Hara have been partners for quite a few years, damned good partners too. It was only a matter of time before they started falling for each other. What happens when they do? Starting soon after the end of Season 4, 'Mr. Yin Presents...' Rated M for sexual content and language. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Even as a young girl Juliet O'hara relied on herself to get through difficult times. Her father was never there for her – (or at least, she wasn't aware of it when he was) and her mother never stopped resenting him for leaving. Her mother always did her best for Juliet and her brothers, but growing up in that situation made someone a bit more…tough? Or independent, or head-strong – all of which described Juliet. She was dedicated to what she believed in, almost to a fault. This is what made her such a good detective – someone who had risen through the ranks quickly, and excelled.

Juliet poured over her work, rereading the same details over and over again. There had to be something that they had missed in this case. It had kept her and Detective Lassiter at work late all week. The station was humming with silence, not too many people were left at this hour. The clock read 10:07 pm as Juliet yawned and stretched her tired limbs. She looked over at Lassiter, hunched over his desk, no doubt going over the same details in the papers sprawled out before him. She could practically hear his brain whirring from where she sat.

She shuffled her papers back together, too tired to get anymore headway in the case, she decided.

"Carlton, I think I might call it a night," he looked up at her, seemingly startled to see that she was still there.

"Oh yes, O'hara, you should head home," and looked back down at the information laid out before him.

"When were you going to go home? We've both been here all day. I know you are as tired as I am," she got up and walked over to his desk to lean against it, arms folded. Over the years she had gotten to know her partner very well– better than anyone else did, whether she was aware of this or not. She knew how stubborn he was – extremely stubborn. More stubborn than anyone else she knew, to be completely honest. And sometimes he needed just a little push, and more often than that he needed holding back. Tonight he needed the push to go home.

"O'hara – "

"No," she held up her hand to stop him from giving his excuse, "I'm serious, Carlton, you've been staying late every night – even later than I have. I know you're tired."

"But – "

All she needed to do was give him a look – raise an eyebrow. He scoffed, looking up at her. After a long pause, he gave an expression of defeat.

"Ok… you're right," he got up from his chair, his tall lean body very close to Juliet's. He was much taller than her, a fact especially obvious when she switched into flats for the evening. His broad shoulders, those blue eyes, the way his dark hair was tousled after a long day's work, his efforts to keep it tidy forgotten - she could feel herself heat up and quickly moved back to her desk. Dammit. These feelings needed to stop.

"I know," she quipped, gathering her things up from her desk; putting away the information about the case. She turned back to him again as he began buttoning up his coat. She watched as his fingers worked their way up. His hands were strong; Juliet knew this. He could pull his gun in less than a second, take someone down if he needed to and cuff them quicker than any cop Juliet had seen. He was incredibly tough, and way more intense than anyone else. But in this profession that intensity was often needed. Any hesitation and things could go south fast. There was good reason he was head detective. Juliet admired Carlton Lassiter…more than anyone else she knew. She was incredibly lucky, she felt, to have been paired with him.

His dedication to the job rivaled her own. She knew that too. She knew her worth – she knew she was tough, smart, dedicated. She also knew that she felt things very deeply, and things got to her maybe more easily than most. As she watched him straighten up she had a brief flashback of their night together after he had come to save her (Gus had come too) from the clock tower. Nothing too crazy happened between them – well… Juliet knew that night was the beginning of her growing feelings for her partner.

*** a few months earlier ***

He took her home after the brief at the station. He made sure she got a little food in her, made her tea, waited outside her bedroom door as she slipped out of dirty clothes and showered. Finally. She had never wanted a hot shower more than in that moment.

Twenty minutes passed and she walked out in sweats and a T- shirt, at least comfort wrapped around her physically. Though in her mind she was all but comfortable. She wasn't exactly sure how she felt. He got up from where he sat, leaning against the wall outside her bedroom. She wanted to ask him to stay –

"I'm staying here, Juliet."

He said it before she even had a chance to ask. He said it in a way that suggested no arguing.

"Chief Vick asked if I would… I would have regardless, anyway…" he trailed off. He was looking at her with the deepest concern.

"Thank you, Carlton," Juliet had broken down against him only hours earlier. She leaned into him and felt him wrap his solid arms around her, she felt some peace wash over her once again.

So he stayed in her guest room just down the hall; in the beginning, anyway. Juliet woke from a nightmare only a few hours later – she sat up suddenly, sweating, breathing heavily, shaking herself from what she had been dreaming about. Just falling… Then hitting the ground.

Carlton was by her, palm against her cheek, telling her she is OK, smoothing her hair back, wiping at the tears she just now realized covered her cheeks.

"Stay here with me," she managed to say as she calmed down. She knew how to calm herself down when she felt overwhelmed. Breathe in. Breathe out. Simple and universal. Although, she had never had to calm down from something like this.

"OK," he said, "let me just go get a few things." She was surprised he had agreed…but also not surprised. She knew he was protective of her, and cared for her. She felt the same way about him.

She felt a cold shiver as soon as he stepped through her doorframe, but he was back again soon. Pillow and blanket in hand – he began setting up on the floor, "Carlton…no," she wiped at her cheeks, sticky tears muddled her features, "you cannot sleep on the floor." He looked at her hesitantly, straightening up. He cleared his throat "but…" he looked at the empty space next to her, then back at her again, "O'hara… I –"

She looked at him deeply and whispered, "Please."

"OK."

He didn't need a lot of convincing. Juliet didn't know the full scope of why that was, either. He didn't have any extra clothes with him when he brought Juliet home, his overnight bag he brought with him to go to the office unfortunately lay forgotten at his own home. He was in his thin white undershirt and boxers. And socks, Juliet noticed. Which apparently he slept in, she felt a small laugh rise in her throat that resolved into a small smile.

Lassiter looked surprised at the sight of Juliet smiling, after the night she'd had, "What?" he asked a little defensively.

"Nothing," Juliet lay back down and cuddled up under the covers, watching as her partner made a pillow barrier between them. He also decided to use his own blanket, laying on top of her own comforter. She rolled her eyes to herself, but was also thankful for this barrier he had put up between them.

Both of them thankful for this barrier. They valued their partnership.

"Goodnight, Carlton… thank you."

They were looking at each other as they lay there, pillows dividing them.

"Goodnight, Juliet. Please get some rest."

Juliet woke first. Carlton's arm was reaching over the pillows he had put into place, his hand lying heavy over her own.


	2. Chapter 2

Juliet got the usual nod from Carlton and a 'goodnight, O'Hara' before he got into his car and she her own. Her place wasn't very far, only five minutes away from the station, so she didn't have a lot of time to think. She had been replaying the same information over and over in her head for the past couple months so there really wasn't much more to go over.

But of course, she went over everything anyway.

She and Shawn had been having a will-they-won't-they thing for so long now, and he only recently broke up with Abigail. She wasn't sure what her feelings were for him anymore... the night she was kidnapped by Yin, things changed. Because of the trauma that night caused, and then later the night with her partner… she just wasn't sure anymore. Or maybe she was afraid of exactly _what_ she was sure of.

There was no doubt that there was somewhat of a spark with Shawn – but it wasn't much more than that, and it seemed to be dwindling. She pulled into her driveway, hands still on the steering wheel. She gave a heavy sigh and her forehead dropped to the steering wheel. With Lassiter it had all the makings to become fire. They worked so well together as partners, they played off each other so effortlessly. The thought of this effortless chemistry, bringing it to the _bedroom …_ Juliet didn't let herself think too long on that.

Carlton did not seem to feel the same way that she did, she had searched for it in the weeks following the night Yin presented. He was the same old grumpy Carlton Lassiter. His snarky remarks and general irritability not lost on anyone, except maybe Juliet herself. She did linger on the fact that he was not like that to her…hardly ever. Sure, sometimes he would say something ill-tempered to her but she always responded with bite. And rarely, if ever, were these ill-tempered remarks toward her personally, regular situations and people easily got him riled up.

Juliet removed her forehead from the steering wheel, peeled back her fingers from their grip, and gathered her things from the passenger seat. As she moved into her home she realized, once again, that these thought patterns got her nowhere. There was simply no possibility Carlton felt the same. Plus – her job was on the line, their partnership. And Juliet did not want another partner other than Carlton, she couldn't bare to think of it; nor did she want to leave the SBPD. He had gotten into a relationship with his last partner, and even though she knew nothing about that ordeal (Carlton would not tell her; she never pressed him on the subject) – she did know that it had ended badly.

She set her things down on the entry table and hung up her coat, lost in these thoughts, thoughts that had been plaguing her tirelessly for weeks now, she resolved that Carlton didn't feel the same.

"There really is _not_ any point for dwelling on this," she huffed to herself. She would have to just suppress her feelings; she didn't want to lose Carlton as her partner.

* * *

Carlton Lassiter drove away in the opposite direction of O'Hara, their places on opposite sides of the precinct. He berated himself over the cold goodbye, although he had given that same gesture over the years, lately he wished he could hug her, kiss her, tell her he hoped she had a wonderful night. Or better yet, go home with her.

Shaking his head of the thought, he tried to focus on the road.

He could not think of these things. He could not lose Juliet as his partner, _I'd rather go to a democratic rally with Lena Dunham,_ he thought to himself. But it was true, he would rather do anything than lose Juliet. He already had a track record with getting involved with his partner… Lucinda was different though. Carlton liked her a lot, to be sure, but with that relationship it was almost as if he were dating _himself_. She was a lot like him, very serious and driven and not much of a warm side. Plus, it had, he hated to say it, been somewhat of a rebound relationship over his upending separation and divorce from his wife. It was years later now, these feelings for O'Hara seemed to come from their very own place. Juliet was _different._ In all honesty, she was Lassiter's favorite person…ever. He got along more with her than anyone else he had ever met; it had shocked him at first.

She was serious, driven, stubborn, _amazing_ with a weapon he might add, qualities that were strong in himself. Things he valued. But she was also soft, funny, empathetic, insightful, _beautiful._ Things he would never use to describe himself. She was a puzzle he wanted to figure out in the most intimate way, the most interesting person he had ever met. Their similarities made them strong partners in the field. Their differences made them the perfect balance in every other aspect.

He let out a shaky breath, now in his driveway. He went inside, taking off his jacket and holster and placing them in the closet. Making a beeline to the bathroom he rushed to splash cold water on his face to get out of this spiral of thoughts. Thoughts that had no merit, she didn't feel the same way. That night after Yin – he thought _maybe_. He had made himself as guarded as he could when she invited him to bed, but it felt so _right –_ he had wanted to pull her to him and fall asleep with her in his arms.

As he drove home the next morning he realized that she had been through something very traumatic. Of course she needed comfort. He would have felt the same way, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

He looked up into the mirror at himself, something he didn't like to do if he could manage it. He wasn't unattractive…but he wasn't too attractive either, he thought to himself. He had deep bags under his eyes from the late nights, he had dark stubble growing in that put a shadow on his face. He was getting older, the lines in his face had gotten just a bit deeper than the last time he saw his reflection. His salt and pepper hair was a bit unkempt after the long day. Not helped by the many times he ran his fingers through it, an anxious habit of his. He looked…average. Or maybe he was just being too critical.

He thought of Juliet and her greyish-blue eyes, her long hair blonde hair that had gotten a bit darker; he noticed the difference the day she came into work. He liked the new dark blonde, it reminded him of honey and just _sweetness._

He tore his gaze from the mirror, dear lord, when did he get so damned romantic? He had never felt this way about anyone before, none of his past relationships lived up to this level. And Juliet and he weren't even in a relationship, at least not that kind of relationship. But he thought the hours he spent with her over the years far surpassed anyone else. Even his ex-wife, no wonder she left him…he had been married to the job, truly. He wished her the best, he new she was seeing someone new. Hopefully she had found a match far better than they ever were. In the beginning this would have hurt immensely, but now he felt at peace with the matter. His company with Juliet was all he needed now, no matter the circumstance. And them being partners would have to be enough for him; there was no way she felt the same way about him. And if she did, they couldn't, it just wouldn't work.

He was in his bedroom now, he had taken off his suit and replaced it with a set of flannel pajamas… and socks. He never liked the feeling of sleeping without socks, it made him feel vulnerable. Getting into bed he attempted to clear his mind, but it took a couple hours to finally fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Months passed by, the case Juliet and Carlton had been staying so late for had long since been solved. O'Hara and Lassiter were on their A game lately, even more so than usual, case after case being solved.

Little did they know that it had a lot to do with each of them spending all their energy on their work. Both of them not wanting to give into the the distraction of each other, a bit ironic as they worked alongside each other day after day. But this system worked, _all_ of their energy was focused on the professional side of their relationship. None of it went toward how much Juliet wanted Carlton to throw her down on top of his desk and take her right then and there. None of it went toward how much Carlton wanted Juliet to shut him up by kissing him senseless. No, that energy was spent on work. Those thoughts weren't practical.

Juliet's phone buzzed yet again on her desk, the loud vibrations quickly ceased as she snatched it off the wooden surface. She already knew who it was. She looked down at the text that read _Come on Jules, how abt 2day? We could get tacos, or chicken wings, or pizza, or pasta, sushi, burgers – whtevr u want._ Juliet sighed at her phone and shut it without texting back. Shawn had been trying to ask her out for the past couple weeks or so, now that the heartbrokenness of his breakup had worn off – he apparently was ready to date again. Juliet had told him she needed more time, that she was very very busy with work – she was sure it would die down soon yada yada yada. But the truth was she didn't really feel that way anymore. It was proving difficult to be forthright with this, a very uncharacteristic act, she thought.

Luckily Psych had been working less cases with the pair lately, so Juliet was able to avoid the situation – and just as she thought this –

"Lassie I know you missed me! How long has it been, ol' Lassie ol' pal," Shawn waltzed up the hall, Gus not far behind. Juliet could almost feel the tension radiating off of Lassiter. She knew he had had a rough morning; one of the men involved in a robbery they had been called to had taken a swing at him, and it had connected. Of course they had eventually cuffed each offender, and they were currently sitting in a cell, but Carlton was sporting a black eye. One which he really did not want Shawn Spencer to see.

Shawn stopped short of Lassiter's desk and stared for a moment before exclaiming, "Lassieeeee, what a shiner! If only I had been there to protect you," Gus looked at Shawn with a warning look in his eyes, he seemed to pick up on Lassiter's not-so-great day much more than Shawn did. For a psychic, Juliet thought, Shawn is really not self-aware. Or, more likely, he was - but he didn't care.

"Spencer, I swear to any of the gods you want, I am NOT in the mood," and he got up and stormed off, Juliet could hear him say something about having a suspect waiting to be interrogated, but she knew that was a lie, there were no suspects. They had just solved the case they had been working on, and Chief had not assigned anything new to them yet. She hoped that this is not why these two were here…she didn't think Carlton could get through a case with them without giving Shawn a shiner to match his own. And Juliet really did not want to referee the two of them either.

She stood up from her seat, arms folded, "Shawn, why do you always have to push him like that," she cocked an eyebrow at the psychic.

"Jules, if you must know, I really did miss Lassie. Psych hasn't been on a case with you guys in weeks," he moved closer to her, putting a hand on her waist, "and I especially missed you."

Gus was busying himself with the donut table and ignoring the pair, not really wanting to be apart of their charade.

Juliet waited to feel…anything. She used to get a bit fluttery when this man would be close to her, but now she didn't feel a damned thing.

"Shawn, seriously, we're in public," She began before he cut her off.

"Did you get my text?" She knew that one was coming.

"Yes I did –"she uncrossed her arms, ready to tell him again that she just wasn't ready, wasn't able to.

"And you are dying to go to dinner with me?" he finished her sentence hopefully.

She stepped away from him, around her desk and sat down, the desk giving her much needed space away from him. Avoiding his eyes, she looked around at her desk and lied with a little too much pep, "you know, Shawn, another time would be great – but I am just so swamped with work right now," she looked up at him and shrugged, "I think I will be staying late yet again."

Shawn looked at her and she scowled a bit as she saw his hand move to the side of his head, fingers hovering near his temple, "I sense that you are _not_ busy with work, in fact you just finished up a case." Damn his psychic-ness, she thought to herself. Little did she know he had just seen that she was working on writing a report, and had taken an educated guess. She thought for a moment, juggling the idea of actually going on a date with Shawn…

"Wait, Jules, you aren't seeing someone else are you?" He dropped the psychic act and pouted at her, "there isn't another man in your life?" he looked around at Gus with a very dramatic expression on his face, as if to tell his best friend that he had just been heartbroken yet again. Gus rolled his eyes and continued eating the donut in his hand.

Juliet laughed a little too forcefully, "Shawn, no…no no, I am not seeing anyone else," and in that moment Carlton Lassiter came bounding back down the hall, looking very grumpy, huffing toward his desk. At the sight of his least favorite person, he scowled and dropped to his desk. He had hoped that his moments of fresh air had rid the station of these two.

Juliet continued to look passed Shawn to Carlton, her mouth still slightly open, momentarily lost for words. Shawn glanced back at Carlton and then to Juliet, his eyes narrowed, like he knew something. Juliet snapped her eyes back to Shawn, panicking at the look he was giving her, "fine, Shawn, I will go to dinner with you, fine…" she sighed and swore she could see Carlton's back straighten at the words, but as soon as she saw that moment of tension happen, it had subsided.

Shawn's prying look disappeared and was replaced with a huge smile, "Oh happy day! Jules, you will not be disappointed, I know the perfect place."

She forced her best smile, this is what she had been looking forward to for the years now right? She should be excited, "What time should I be ready?"

"How about 7? I will swing by your place to pick you up –"

"No motorcycle, Shawn."

Shawn's shoulders dropped, "fine," he whined, "I'll pick you up in something with four wheels."

"Thank you," Juliet let out a genuine laugh, which boosted Shawn's sudden drop in mood immensely.

"Alright, I will see you tonight, fair Juliet," and before she could think to stop him he came around the desk, took her hand in his own and kissed it. A very silly thing to do, really, but her eyes immediately went to Lassiter, who had just swiveled around in his chair to get up from his desk. He glanced at the scene and his bright blue eyes shot up to Juliet's with a look of…what? Sadness? She wasn't sure. But it was very quickly replaced by a grimace. He sauntered away to the Chief's office without saying a word.

Gus entered the scene as Shawn stood up, "Ok now, come on Romeo, we have a "case" (he said this with air quotes) to work remember?" he looked to Juliet, "it's another poor woman wanting to speak with her deceased husband, sometimes we take those just because it's so…sad." He shivered slightly as he pulled Shawn away.

 _That is sad,_ Juliet thought to herself.

"I will be the one with the flower in his pocket Jules!" Shawn called to Juliet as he was dragged away. And she could hear him say to Gus, "I am _not_ wearing that stupid hat again for this, nor am I using any sort of glass ball."

"It makes the experience more authentic, Shawn," Gus said. And then they were out of earshot, and out the door.

Juliet shook her head, smiling slightly, and focused on writing her report again, she was just about done. She was very good at writing reports, very detailed but in the most concise way possible. She also enjoyed writing reports, which is something many officers would say is their least favorite part of the job. It allowed her to get everything out and then fold it up neatly, so to speak, and move on.

Her partner came back from the Chiefs office; he did not look too thrilled with the day. Not that he was ever thrilled, unless, if there were a weapon disassembling-reassembling competition going on, she thought he might be thrilled about that.

"Once you're done with that report, O'Hara, you can head home a little early," he stated before sitting back in his chair, "you'll need enough time to get ready for your date," he practically spat out the last word. She wasn't even sure if he meant to say this loud enough for her to hear.

She decided to ignore the last statement and asked, "what about you?"

"No, I don't have a date to get ready for," he laughed darkly, and turned in his chair to look at her. Arms folded, sleeves rolled up, exposing his strong forearms. It was the end of the day, so his jacket was off, his hair was a bit more tousled than it had been that morning. It was Juliet's favorite look. Aside from that black eye.

She again ignored his negative tone, "how is that eye doing?" she stood up and walked over to him, leaning down so they were at eye level. He got a little warm at the proximity, crossing his arms even tighter and fidgeting in his chair uncomfortably.

"O'Hara, it's fine, this is hardly the first time this has happened," he grew silent as she took his chin in her hand and moved his head to the side to get a better look. Her hand was warm and soft against him. What was he, a kid who go into a playground scuffle at school? What was she playing at here? But still he didn't move.

"Dammit I wish I got him back for this one, I'd like to give this guy two black eyes," she muttered. She caught the look in Carlton's eyes and suddenly she realized just how close they were, she dropped her hand immediately and straightened up, "sorry, sorry," she smiled at him trying to cover up just how flustered she felt, "next time I will get them back for you."

"O'Hara, that's hardly necessary," he cleared his throat and looked around, no one seemed to notice their display, "but thank you for your concern," his features softened as much as Carlton's features could. He thought how to change the subject.

"So…date with Spencer tonight. Have fun with that one," he could hardly contain his sarcasm.

Juliet couldn't read him in that moment, "yeah, well…" she trailed off.

"That clown doesn't deserve you Juliet." He said this with more intensity than he meant to. _No one does,_ he thought.

Juliet was surprised by those words, and the tone he said them in, and let out a laugh, "Carlton, come on…he's not that bad –"

The man in front of her scoffed and moved his gaze back toward her, wanting to tell her how amazing she was, that no man deserved to even kiss the ground she walked on, especially not _Spencer_. But instead he said,

"Sure, maybe – but still," and that's all he could get out without hinting at what he truly wanted to tell the woman standing in front of him. He could feel himself growing more and more tense as they remained there in silence,

"Well, I need to finish up this report then," Juliet suddenly said as she turned to her desk again. She wanted to get farther away from Carlton, the desire to touch him again was growing a little too strong, "you're going home after that report too, right Carlton?"

He knew that question was coming, she seemed to always be concerned about him overworking himself. They both worked a lot of extra hours, but he definitely tended to work even more. It was because he was going home to nothing, just a steak for one and a glass of whiskey. He was lonely. Which is something he admitted to no one. Being at work gave him a purpose, and he frankly dreaded the time he spent alone each night.

"Yes, O'Hara, Chief Vick instructed both of us to take an early evening, she also wanted me to thank you for the extra work you've been putting in," She smiled warmly at him, "Of course," she said, and turned her gaze to her computer screen.

He had also very much enjoyed the many hours with Juliet, the many cases solved. He continued to look at her without her realizing it, fingers ticking away at her keyboard as she wrote her report. He smiled to himself and thought about how lucky he was to be paired with this young detective.

Initially, when Lucinda had decided to leave the SBPD, he was heartbroken. And then this fairly new to the force, young blonde had been assigned to be his partner. He had to admit he had judged her in the beginning, how could the Chief pair him with some inexperienced cop from Miami? He ate those flippant judgments completely only a couple weeks after they had began working together. She had taken down a perp who had the audacity to fight Carlton, and gave him a black eye. He had gotten quite a few black eyes in his career, he realized, maybe he just had a puncheable face?

She had shown strength he never knew she could possess, she had forced him to the ground and cuffed him before Carlton even realized what was happening. And that's when he began to realize how amazing this young cop from Miami really was. That was 5 years ago, and she still continued to mesmerize him.

"Why are you staring at me?" Juliet looked up at Carlton from her computer and he could see a slight blush in her cheeks, and he knew he was beginning to match that sentiment.

"Oh, nothing, sorry, lost in thought I guess," he grumbled and swiveled his chair around. How dense was he? He couldn't just sit there starting at his partner like that. He started clicking away at his own report, he fucking _hated_ doing reports. He caught the low life person, they're rightly in jail now. The end. Couldn't that be the end of it?

He loved doing the rest of this job so much, that writing reports was a small price to pay. So he begrudgingly tried his damndest to write a clear report, as per usual. They both ticked away for another half hour or so before he heard Juliet stand from her desk and say, "Well, I will see you tomorrow, Carlton," the clock read half passed 3pm, "have a good night, OK?" she came up beside him and couldn't help but place her hand on his shoulder and give it a squeeze. He let the feeling linger, "You too, O'Hara," he didn't mention what her night would consist of. A damn date with Spencer. He knew this event was bound to happen at some point.

She left him and he felt suddenly lonely, even though there were plenty of people still at the station. Plenty of people that he didn't get along with too well, sure they respected him, but no one he could really call a friend. Juliet had become so much to him, the thought of losing her, made his stomach drop. He wanted to take her, hold her, kiss her, make her his. But as he had told himself many many times before, this would jeopardize everything. And she didn't feel that way, she was off to go date Spencer. His face soured at the thought, and he focused back on finishing up. Then he could go home alone and have a much needed whiskey after the day he'd had.


	4. Chapter 4

Juliet walked out and saw Henry's truck waiting for her, thankfully Shawn had actually listened to her about the motorcycle – or lack there of. She had gotten ready for her date with Shawn, all while dwelling on how close her and Carlton had been. If she wanted to she could have tasted his lips, if she wanted to…dammit she did want to. That wasn't up for questioning. One year ago she would have been giddy and excited about this dinner with Shawn, now she felt wrong.

As she reminded herself, yet again, this was worth a shot. Maybe Shawn would surprise her, maybe this growing _infatuation_ with her tall, blue-eyed partner would fizzle over time and they could get back to how things used to be.

"Jules! Hi, wow, you look amazing – as usual," Shawn had gotten out of the car and walked around to the passenger door, opening it for her with a grand gesture.

"Thank you, Shawn, but really it's just jeans and a shirt– nothing fancy," She smiled at him. She got into the truck and settled in, noticing the sunflower he had pinned to his flannel shirt, "Nice flower," she pointed out as he got behind the wheel; not surprised that he had followed through with the detail.

"Why thank you, you know why I picked a sunflower Jules?" he didn't give her time to answer before answering the question for her, "because they remind me of you."

He took her hand in his and kept it there, she muttered, "That's really sweet of you, Shawn," they looked at each other for a moment longer before breaking apart. He cleared his throat and began driving. Juliet _did_ appreciate how sweet he was being…maybe this date would be ok.

"Where are we headed to?"

"My dear, _that,"_ he held the pause, "is a surprise."

It was a surprise that didn't take too long to figure out. They pulled into a newly opened seafood restaurant that Juliet remembered briefly mentioning she wanted to try out a few weeks ago. Shawn must have caught on.

"I sense," he quickly moved his fingers to hover over his temple, "that you wanted to come here."

Juliet laughed at this and the psychic smiled as he lowered his arm.

"Yes, Shawn, I revel in your psychic abilities," she mocked, knowing full well he had simply listened to her. Her fears about the date subsided slightly as she thought about how much Shawn had made her laugh in the past, they had just been _off_ for months now. He had dated Abigail; she had felt a little hurt by it too. They could get that back.

Right?

* * *

They talked a lot, Shawn made Juliet laugh many times, real laughter. She felt at ease and happy with Shawn. Those were good feelings, positive feelings. Feelings you want to feel when you are with someone.

Juliet had ordered salmon; Shawn had ordered 'the fanciest thing on the menu' which was the lobster. The two had also decided on ordering dessert to share, and so they sat, slowly picking away at a piece of cheesecake.

"Gus is currently chasing one of the baristas at this coffee shop we frequent," Shawn answered after Juliet asked what his best friend was up to lately, "I believe he thinks that if he buys enough coffee from this woman she'll decide she wants to get into his pants. He's been wired up on caffeine for days now."

Juliet could picture Gus trying to act smooth, but she knew his coffee order. A pumpkin spiced latte, if he could get it - with whole milk, extra whipped cream, extra cinnamon on top. This was not the most sophisticated drink one could order.

"He will find someone someday," Juliet smiled and thought about it, "and that woman is going be a lucky one." She truly meant it, Gus was a sweetheart, she knew whoever ended up with him would be treated like a queen for life.

Shawn laughed at this, "sure, sure – I had a feeling you were crushing on someone – I didn't realize it was Gus!" He joked.

Juliet laughed too, at the thought of being with Gus – that was a ridiculous thought, "No, no, Shawn. Trust me, it's not him who I've been crushing on."

As soon as she said it she regretted it, knowing how perceptive this man was. He suddenly became serious, his hazel eyes narrowed a bit at her, just as they did earlier at the station. Leaning into the table, he spoke softly, "Jules, what do you mean? You can't tell me that ignoring my texts and avoiding my eyes for weeks is your way of showing that you have a crush on me – this isn't high school," he stared at her, what he was thinking about could be detected by his expression, "I thought you just needed space, but _are_ you seeing someone else?"

Juliet looked at Shawn, almost wanting to confide in him completely – about everything, but opted for her next choice of reaction. She scoffed and made a show of shaking her head, "No, no Shawn, you mistook what I mean, _no_ ," she steadied herself, realizing she was being a little too dramatic about this, "no, I mean, I'm crushing on no one," he looked at her skeptically, so she added an extra, "no one at all." She popped another bite of cheesecake in her mouth hoping this would suffice.

Shawn continued to gaze at her with that knowing look on his face. She chewed slowly to give herself more time to think about what to say next, but before she said any more he sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Ok, Jules, alright – I'm sorry. It's none of my business anyway who you may or may not have been seeing."

He looked a little hurt at this admission.

Juliet tried to ease the situation, "I just wanted to point out that Gus will find someone great someday – I know it. I care for him too, you know," Shawn let a small smile show through, "not _nearly_ as much you two care for each other though," Juliet added, smirking at the man in front of her.

"Jules, you know it would never work between Gus and I, trust me, I've tried," Shawn joked about his bromance, "he said I'm not his type."

"It's a shame, you two would be cute together," Juliet quipped.

"Not as cute as we are together," Shawn took both of Juliet's hands in his own. Juliet was hit with the strong sense of how much she really did care for this man, but was it at all romantic, or was it something different? She wanted to keep him in her life. She wanted to be able to talk him and joke with him like this, she didn't want to hurt him either. But as he leaned across the table and moved his hand to her cheek, drawing her close, she knew how wrong this was. Shawn kissed her lips gently, she closed her eyes and all she could think about was how much she wanted a different set of lips on hers.

As they drew apart she could sense that Shawn somehow knew what she was thinking - at least to some extent.

"Juliet…" he looked at her for a short time, "things have changed, haven't they."

She swallowed, trying to push down the tightness that had settled in her chest, looking at him, she nodded.

"Who is he?" Shawn asked her, pressing the issue again, and he sounded defeated.

"It's no one, Shawn, really," she decided to just remain silent on this topic, "I just feel differently… I don't know why or when it changed."

He looked away from her, turning around to the waiter who was over at the bar, "Check please!" he turned back toward her and the tension between them made Juliet feel incredibly sad. She had loved joking and talking with Shawn all evening, she didn't want to lose him as her friend.

She didn't want to lose Carlton as her partner.

She felt lost.

* * *

The drive home was thick with their silence. This could not be how this night ended, she wanted Shawn to realize how much she did care, but maybe it was too soon for that. They pulled up to her house, he didn't get the door for her this time. He sulked in the driver's seat, Juliet didn't want to just get out and leave him, she had to say something,

"Shawn, I – "

"Juliet," he interrupted, "it's ok," he didn't look at her, "things change, feelings change, people change."

He looked at her then and she thought about the chance they might have had. But in the end, she didn't doubt, it would have ended. She cared for Shawn deeply, but she craved intensity; _passion._ She knew she wouldn't find these things with him. She got out of the truck and he drove away.

* * *

She felt the crisp night air against her skin as she slowly walked into her house, letting out a heavy sigh as she shut her front door behind her. She was relieved now that she was alone, she poored a glass of wine for herself. She just wanted to sit on her couch and relax, not wanting to think about all of these negative feelings going through her mind.

She did let her mind wander, however; wander into that territory she had been trying to suppress for months now. She gave into her frustrations. Tonight she said an audible, "Fuck it," to no one in particular – as no one else was in the room. She thought about that different set of lips. She wanted them. She wanted _him_ ; so badly. She ached to know what it would feel like to have all of that intensity and passion focused on her. She wanted to feel those strong and precise hands maneuver over and around her body. She somehow knew, without a doubt, that to have his full attentions in that way would be the most amazing thing in the world.

His figure was so enticing as she pictured him, tall and lean, in a pressed suit, bright blue eyes, brows furrowed until she walks into the room. He draws her into his arms and tilts her head up to face his, drinking each other in. He kisses her softly – brushing over her lips in a very uncharacteristically gentle way. She can't help herself, running her fingers through his hair and down his neck, holding him to her. Her tongue invites his to explore, kissing him deeply makes her head spin.

Somehow, they are in a bed now, his skin pressed to hers with no barrier of any sort between them. The weight of him on her body is intoxicating, she wants him to meld into her and take her – and then he is doing just that, their bodies moving together in the most pleasurable way –

Juliet sat up from the couch, "Fuck!" she spilled what was left of her wine all over herself, luckily missing the couch, "…me." That addition seemed appropriate given what she had just dozed off into. Her breathing was heavier than normal and she felt as if an electric current was running through her. She set the glass down on the coffee table and made her body stand up and walk to her room to get out of these, now wine stained, clothes.

She laughed at herself, and the fact that she had hoped the date tonight would have helped cure the feelings she was having for Carlton. On the contrary, they were now full throttle with the weight of denying Shawn out of the way.

"Fuck me," she muttered to herself.


	5. Chapter 5

Carlton arrived at the office later than usual that morning, he had gone a little deeper into the bottle than he had planned. His head pounded as he walked to his desk, avoiding eye contact with the blonde that sat behind him, but still giving a brief 'goodmorning'. He had nothing more to say to her at the moment, and until he was forced to interact with her – or anyone for that matter, he would very much like to keep to himself. He didn't hide his sour mood well at all, not that he tried to, and Juliet picked up on it right away. She wondered if this was carrying over from the day before, his black eye still showing very bold on his face.

She could not contain the gentle rise of heat that came over her at the sight of him. She had had quite a night, even her subconscious had let go of all rules. She had dreamt about him relentlessly. She stared at him, he couldn't see her, and she wondered if he could feel her hungry gaze burning into his back. But Carlton sat at his desk, unaware of how his presence affected her. He pondered how he would be able to handle Juliet and Spencer getting together. He could ignore it. That was his main plan of action.

"Detective Lassiter, you're finally here," Chief Vick called from her office, "get in here. You too, O'Hara."

The two detectives got up from their desks, Juliet purposely walked a bit faster than normal in order to catch up and get closer to Carlton before reaching Chief's office, "how are you feeling today?" she asked him, "How is your eye?"

"It's fine, O'Hara, don't worry about it," Carlton muttered, not looking at her at all. They reached the office before Juliet had a chance to respond, she felt slightly snuffed by the way he was acting toward her this morning. She wanted him to look at her.

"Good morning you two," Vick began, "Detective Lassiter, is there any specific _reason_ you were so late to get to work this morning?"

Carlton straightened up immediately, nervously fixing his tie, "Sorry, Chief, I felt a little under the weather this morning – bad headache."

Chief Vick raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms but decided to simply say, "Fine, I hope you're feeling better now – next time just call, please, if you plan to arrive later than expected. I don't want to be left worrying about my detectives."

Carlton nodded, "Yes, Chief."

"Well then," she began speaking to the both of them, "I have a new assignment for you two, I just got a call that a body was found not far off of Mist Creek Running Trail, in the swamp. A middle aged woman, she appears to be, but no other information has been figured out. Apparently her body was left in bad shape," Chief spoke softly, "I just wanted to prepare you for that, detectives."

"We can handle it Chief," Detective Lassiter was in full on intense investigator mode, "Come on, O'Hara."

They quickly went to grab their coats, and walked swiftly to Carlton's car parked in front of the station. Juliet felt thankful for the distraction of this case, and then instantly feeling bad about feeling thankful. Because someone was murdered.

"I wonder what the Chief meant when she said this woman was left in bad shape," Juliet said to her partner as they headed out from the parking lot, "I mean, she's dead. Can't get worse than that."

"We will see soon enough, O'Hara, and then we can start to figure out what kind of scumbag just dumps a body in the swamp," His grip tightened on the steering wheel, giving away some of his tension toward the case. Juliet was used to this, she may be more in tune with people's feelings and thoughts, but she had never met anyone else who cared more than Carlton did when it came to catching bad guys. He may not be good with relating or talking to people, but he was damn good at serving and protecting them. Juliet wished others appreciated this unwavering dedication as she did.

She played with ways to start a conversation between the two of them, as the car was heavy with their silence.

"So…how is your head now?"

He glanced in her direction, "it's better now, I took some stuff for it." No more information was given about it.

"I'm glad you're feeling better."

Carlton toyed with the idea, then, to ask her about her date… he wanted to ask equally as much as he didn't want to ask –

"Shawn and I, well _I_ , decided to not pursue a relationship," she offered up on her own, looking casually out the window.

"Oh –" was all Carlton managed to say, his eyebrows raised on their own accord.

"Yeah, I just think – well I feel, things have changed. Anyway," she sighed and looked over at him, "I think it was for the best."

"I'm sorry to hear that O'Hara," no he damned well was not sorry to hear it, "I know you two have been…flirting for some time now."

Juliet laughed at that, "yeah we had been for years, you know. I know you're not upset about this, Carlton, you're hardly Shawn's number one fan. But, for me, things changed. Especially after – " she shuddered at the thought of that night, shaking herself to clear her head of it.

"I know," Carlton did something very surprising; surprising himself most of all. His hand moved from the steering wheel to squeeze her own hand that was resting on her lap. A warm feeling went through both of them at the contact, "Sorry," he drew away quickly.

Juliet looked over at him, her breathing hitched at the mere sight of him, "it's ok. Thank you, Carlton."

The tail end of the drive to the crime scene was much lighter, especially within Carlton, he had a substantial increase in mood after hearing that Juliet O'Hara would _not_ be continuing things with Spencer. He couldn't really believe it. It was no secret that they had had feelings for each other – when Juliet first became his partner he deduced that her and the psychic would eventually move in that direction. But Juliet had changed since then, he saw it more than anyone else. No longer was she the young junior detective from 5 years ago that Carlton was so nervous to be partnered with. She was now an amazing detective in her own right, she was older and wiser and so incredibly beautiful, the way her golden hair framed her face and the way she always smelled so amazing and how perfect her hand felt in his –

Get it together, man.

* * *

Chief Vick was not lying about the bad shape the body was in. It was very strange, considering the woman was in a swamp, that she appeared to have been run over by a _car._ The detectives scoped the crime scene and no ID was found to place the woman. She was dressed in running clothes, which made sense – as she was on the trail. But Juliet and Carlton puzzled about how her body had gotten in that state, her mangled limbs bent in awkward directions, it wasn't a pretty sight.

The body was covered and taken away to the station, maybe Woody would discover something breakthrough-worthy in the case. Despite him being a nut job, he was very good at his job.

The pair searched a little while longer for any clues, but found none, "if she was hit by a car," began Lassiter, "we may need to widen our search – see if we can find any signs of an accident on the roads nearby."

"Good call."

They left the scene and decided to drive around the nearby roads, telling the forensic photographer to call them immediately if anything was found.

"Chief really wasn't lying was she," Juliet stated darkly as they clambered into the car, "her face was hardly recognizable. She wasn't wearing a wedding ring either – I wonder who we will have to break this news to."

"It's a real shame," he muttered in response.

They drove around for a short time until discovering a patch off the side of the road, not far from the trailhead, that had many track marks imprinted into the mud. It looked like more than just an accidental skid off the road, it seemed as if someone had backed up and drove forward multiple times. Grass, dirt and tire prints were scattered onto the road as well.

"This may be the place our victim was hit, the trail opens up into the woods not far down there," Lassiter pointed down the road, his finger moving along the path as he continued, "it goes into the wooded area and heads east, my guess is the swamp is maybe a mile in."

"So you think whoever hit this woman dragged her body a mile down the trail into the swamp? What if they had been seen? This trail is pretty popular with runners – I've even ran it myself before," she added.

"This is just a hunch, but yes. This area seems too torn up to just be someone briefly running a truck off of the road."

The two studied the area a while longer, giving up on finding any more evidence, but content with the discovery. After calling the crime scene photographer the pair decided to head back to the station.

* * *

"Yep, this woman was definitely hit by a car," the coroner took on a very serious tone, "and I wouldn't say it was an accident. The body was run over multiple times. She's also been dead for only a few hours, I would guess. But because she was found in the swamp it makes it a little murkier," he briefly paused to see if his joke had landed, it didn't, "my guess is that this happened early this morning."

Carlton stood next to his partner, shoulders squared, his fingers rubbing his chin thoughtfully. The scene they had come across earlier had a higher chance of being the scene of the crime with this news. Unfortunately, the team that they had sent to thoroughly search the area hadn't found a thing.

"Dammit."

Juliet heard the man next to her mumble under his breath, she could tell he was frustrated.

"Thanks Woody," she said to the man across the body, "if you find anything new, please let us know."

"I'll call you as soon as we identify the body," he turned away and got back to work. Juliet appreciated that Woody was being more serious - aside from his tasteless attempt at a joke - she wasn't sure if Carlton would be able to handle the coroner and his oddities in the irritable state he had been in lately. He might follow through with his threats and physically harm Woody.

They spent the next hour going over paperwork until Woody called. The woman's name was Sheila LoMann, she was head surgeon at the Santa Barbara hospital, 42 years old, married for 19 years to Don LoMann, no children, she lived not too far from the station, no past offenses to her name.

"She seemed like a great woman," Juliet looked more into the woman's bio, "she graduated from Harvard medical too," the blonde looked at the hunched form of her partner, he was looking through the woman's information as well.

"Looks like we'll be paying a visit to Donny, here," he stated darkly.

They followed their first lead.

* * *

The husband was torn up about the news.

As soon as Juliet had spoken the words that his wife's body was found, he collapsed in shock. If this was an act, he was an amazing actor. Of course, Carlton was still skeptical. Juliet, however, did not believe he was the one who committed this crime. They left after finding out as much information from the man as they could, which, at the moment, wasn't a lot.

Understandably, he was trying to speak through sobs the entire time. They only found out that she went out for her runs at 5:30 AM each morning, she rarely missed one. She would go in from the east entrance, which strengthened Carlton's hunch even more. They didn't get much more from him during the visit, though they instructed him to be at the station in the morning, 8AM.

Even though Juliet truly did not believe that the man had done anything, Carlton still instructed the parole officer assigned to the neighborhood that night to keep special watch over the house, 'in case he tries to make a run for it'.

Juliet didn't argue with her partner, as there was no changing his mind. They drove back to the station in silence, both tired from the long day.

Juliet hadn't had time to think much about Carlton throughout the day, homicide investigations generally killed the mood. Yet, as they walked into the station to wrap up for the night, she became hypersensitive, once again, to their proximity.

She tried to ignore this as they each gathered their things from their desks.

"I'll walk you to your car," the man said suddenly as he turned to face her, ready to leave.

"You don't need to," Juliet looked at him puzzled, her bag hanging loosely from her shoulder.

"Come on, yes I do," Carlton was determined.

"OK."

They walked out front again, together, not speaking. The sun was deeply setting as they were getting out late once again; that fact often came with the job. There was no one else around them as they neared her car.

She walked ahead of her partner and when she reached her driver side door, she opened it and turned to thank him for walking her there; whatever his reasoning was.

She found him close to her, much closer than he usually was. Her breathing hitched as she grew incredibly warm, she knew she was blushing. The look he was giving her was unlike any look she had seen on him before. He was intense, but not in his usual intensely angry way. He just seemed…intense; she couldn't place it.

"O'Hara," apparently her first name still was not appropriate even in this situation, "don't go running on those trails until we arrest the person who did this."

She felt slightly annoyed, she was capable of taking care of herself. She scoffed at him and stated it plainly,

"Carlton, I think I can take care of myself."

To her dismay, her voice shook slightly, if she moved even a few inches they might be pressed together. He couldn't stop it, he moved his hand to brush a stray piece of blonde hair from her face. She could feel herself melt at his touch, her annoyance instantly forgotten.

Whether he was hoping for the following outcome or not, Juliet responded without even thinking. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew herself against him, her lips claiming his.

He wasn't thinking either. Not thinking about where they were, or that they worked together, or that this was a mistake. He opened up to her instantly, the fingers he had used to brush one piece of hair now tangled in the rest.

The taste of him intoxicated her, she wanted to wrap herself up in this man.

And it ended much too quickly, he tore himself away from her. He had decided to think again. A part of her hated that he had done that; but another part of her knew that maybe, it was for the best.

"I'm allowed to worry about you," he stated stiffly, he avoided looking at her, "Ok, goodnight, O'Hara."

He turned away and walked swiftly to his car, leaving Juliet to wonder what the hell had just happened, and also _praying_ that nobody saw it.

She also wanted to do it again.

Dammit, nope. Not gonna happen.

Can't happen.


End file.
